Denver Gymnastics danced on the floor to the music and flipped at a high level in their meet against Towson on Sunday in Magness Arena. DU cruised past the Tigers 198.000 to 195.600.
Key gymnasts Jessica Hutchinson and Rylie Mundell led the way on the mats with their acrobatic skills and resilient minds, who recorded the top all-around scores on the Denver roster. DU came out strong and performed at the highest level, especially on the uneven bars in which they are nationally ranked 6th. Each gymnast in the bars event averaged out to a solid score of 9.950.
Vault
The meet started with Mila Brusch, who started solid for Denver with significant poise and a tremendous flip that resulted in a 9.850.
Hutchinson followed Brusch with lightning speed when doing her aerobic flips, and she stuck a soft landing to keep DU in the lead with a score of 9.850.
Towson ended off the vault with a firm landing and recorded a team score of 48.975. DU had a strong vault session with a firm landing, with the gymnasts being detail-oriented and extremely accurate while maintaining control to land the flip. They would outscore the Tigers by 0.375.
Key performers in the event included Mundell, who recorded the team’s highest score of 9.900, and Rosie Casali tied for the second-best individual score, with a 9.875.
Bars
Towson started the bar event with a double tuck and did an excellent job with a speedy-paced approach when getting to the bar, tackling it and landing solidly.
But DU would strike back with their best rotation of the day. Mia Hebnick captured a 9.975 on the second attempt for Denver, and soon after, Hutchinson and Kiley Rorich would follow up to make a 9.975 trio.
The 49.750 is the best bars score in program history and is just the second time the program has surpassed a 49.700.
Beam
With the third rotation, Denver was on the balance beam doing aerial cartwheels and flipping. Denver maintained composure for their dismounts and landed well with solid acrobatic skills.
Towson was gaining momentum on Denver in the event with solid handstands and gradual soft landings. They were visually aggressive, having intense poses on the beam and maintaining composure.
Key performers included Madison Ulrich, who came out strong with a significant flip and controlled the beam with calm composure, scoring a 9.875. Momoko Iwai had her season’s best score of 9.875, and Abbie Thompson scored her second-highest, with a 9.825.
Floor
Iwai added another 9.875 and Casali tied her season best of 9.925. Rorich matched Iwai with a 9.875, and Hutchinson finished her great meet with a 9.950.
Towson answered back with a great dance to the music and doing significant splits and flips to get them with a good straddle jump, having power and flexibility. It ultimately was not enough as DU bested Towson by 0.275 in the final event.
The Crimson and Gold Gymnasts finished strong on the floor with a team score of 49.475 while flowing and vibing with their tunes. The total team score amounted to an even 198.000, the second highest score in DU program history.
The Crimson and Gold will return to Big 12 action in their next meet, and they will stay at home for the next aerobic dance as they take on Southeast East Missouri State and Iowa State at 1:45 p.m. at Magness Arena.
